Oregon has 3 CSWE-accredited MSW programs, all concentrated in the western Oregon Willamette Valley corridor, anchored by Portland State University's School of Social Work. PSU is Oregon's primary graduate social work program and the only one with a Public Health dual degree, multi-city delivery (Portland, Eugene, and Bend), and a named Macro Social Work concentration. PSU's position within the College of Urban and Public Affairs and its downtown Portland location place it at the intersection of Oregon's healthcare, housing, and social justice sectors, with direct practicum access to Oregon Health and Science University, Legacy Health, Providence Health, and the dense Portland nonprofit ecosystem.
George Fox University and Pacific University both received CSWE accreditation in 2014 and offer Advanced Generalist concentrations. George Fox delivers from Portland with a faith-integrated curriculum rooted in its evangelical Quaker heritage. Pacific University relocated its campus program from Eugene to Forest Grove in 2023, a significant change that aligns the program more closely with the Portland metro social work market while moving away from the Eugene Willamette Valley community it had served since accreditation. Both programs added online delivery in recent years (George Fox in 2024, Pacific in 2025).
Oregon social work licensing follows a straightforward two-tier master's structure: the LMSW is the entry-level license after passing the ASWB Master's examination, and the LCSW requires 3,000 post-graduate supervised clinical hours over at least two years. Oregon does not offer a separate bachelor's-level social worker license. The Oregon State Board of Licensed Social Workers administers both credentials. Portland's social work wages are above the national median due to high cost of living, while rural eastern Oregon and the Oregon coast have documented social worker shortages.
Which MSW programs in Oregon are CSWE-accredited?
Every CSWE-accredited MSW program in the state is listed here, scored on the same seven-factor model used in the national ranking. All data sourced from the CSWE accreditation directory and official program pages (.edu). Accreditation years are Initial Accreditation Dates from the CSWE directory. PSU CSWE locations: Portland, Eugene, Bend (all 1964-present), Online (2018-present); Medford and Salem closed 2022. Pacific University relocated campus from Eugene to Forest Grove 2023; online added 2025. George Fox online delivery added 2024.
- #1
Portland State University School of Social Work
Portland, OR · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1964
8.5
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingPortland State University's School of Social Work holds the longest continuous accreditation of any Oregon MSW program, dating to 1964. Two concentrations are offered: Clinical or Direct Practice and Macro Social Work. A dual-degree program is available with Public Health (MPH), with the joint program facilitated by Portland State's own School of Public Health and its relationship with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). The program operates from the Portland main campus, Eugene, and Bend, with online delivery available since 2018. The Medford and Salem sites, previously serving southern and mid-Willamette Valley Oregon, closed in 2022. Advanced Standing is available. PSU is Oregon's primary urban metropolitan research university, situated in downtown Portland, and the School of Social Work is housed within the College of Urban and Public Affairs, reflecting the program's sustained focus on urban communities, housing, social justice, and community development alongside its clinical track. PSU's downtown location provides direct access to Oregon Health and Science University, Legacy Health, Providence Health, and the dense network of community mental health, housing, and social services agencies in the Portland metro area.
Public (Portland State University, metropolitan research university). Contact the program for current in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
Portland State University School of Social Work - #2
George Fox University Department of Social Work
Portland, OR · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 2014
6.5
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingGeorge Fox University's Department of Social Work offers an Advanced Generalist concentration. Online delivery was added in 2024. Advanced Standing is available. George Fox is a private evangelical Christian university with Quaker roots, based in Newberg, Oregon; the MSW program is delivered from a Portland location. The program incorporates a faith-integrated curriculum that may appeal to students from evangelical or broadly Christian backgrounds, while preparing graduates for licensure and employment across secular and faith-based social service settings. The Portland delivery location provides practicum placement access to the same large Portland metro social work labor market as PSU, at a private institution with a smaller class size and faith-integrated learning environment.
Private (George Fox University, evangelical Christian). Contact the program for current tuition rates.
George Fox University Department of Social Work - #3
Pacific University Claire Argow School of Social Work
Forest Grove, OR · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 2014
6.0
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingPacific University's Claire Argow School of Social Work initially operated from Eugene, Oregon, before relocating its campus program to Forest Grove, Oregon (in the Tualatin Valley west of Portland) in 2023. Online delivery was added in 2025. An Advanced Generalist concentration is offered. Advanced Standing is available. Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove. The recent campus relocation from Eugene to Forest Grove and the addition of online delivery in 2025 represent significant changes to the program's delivery model that may affect practicum networks and student community as the program settles into its new location. The Forest Grove campus is approximately 25 miles west of downtown Portland, providing access to the Portland metro social work labor market. Students in the Eugene area, formerly served by the Eugene campus, may now access PSU's Eugene site or Pacific's online option.
Private (Pacific University). Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Pacific University Claire Argow School of Social Work
How long does an MSW take in Oregon, and what does it cost?
An MSW in Oregon takes two years of full-time study, and what it costs turns mostly on whether the program is public or private. The Master of Social Work here is built on 60 credits and 900 hours of supervised field placement. Every one runs an Advanced Standing track, which finishes the degree in about a year for BSW holders. 1 sit at public universities and 2 at private ones, which is usually the largest single difference in what you will pay. Each card links to the program's own tuition page. The field-hour rules that apply everywhere are set out in our guide to CSWE accreditation.
What is the job market like for MSW graduates in Oregon?
Portland is Oregon's dominant job market for MSW graduates and one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), the state's only academic health sciences university, employs clinical and medical social workers across OHSU Hospital, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, and its network of outpatient clinics. Legacy Health, Providence Health (part of the Providence St. Joseph Health system), and PeaceHealth are additional major healthcare employers in the Portland metro area. Portland's well-documented challenges with homelessness, behavioral health, and housing instability create sustained demand for social workers in public systems: Multnomah County's Behavioral Health Division, Multnomah County Social Services, and Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare all employ MSW-level practitioners at scale.
Oregon's public behavioral health system, administered by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), has undergone significant restructuring through the Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) model, which integrates physical health, behavioral health, and oral health services through regional managed care organizations. Social workers play key roles in care coordination, care management, and community health work within the CCO system across Oregon. The Oregon Health Plan, Oregon's Medicaid program, covers a large proportion of Oregonians and funds social work-adjacent positions across the CCO network statewide.
Eugene and the mid-Willamette Valley represent Oregon's second social work labor market. PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center and Oregon Medical Group are the primary healthcare employers in the Eugene metro. Lane County Behavioral Health, Lane County Health and Human Services, and the University of Oregon's student affairs and counseling systems employ MSW practitioners across clinical and community settings. The closure of PSU's Salem site in 2022 left the mid-Willamette Valley (Salem, Corvallis, McMinnville) without a local PSU campus option, though PSU's Eugene site and online platform remain accessible.
Rural Oregon presents significant social work workforce challenges. Eastern Oregon, the Oregon coast, and the Klamath Basin all have documented shortages of licensed social workers, particularly in child welfare and behavioral health. Oregon's large Indigenous population, including the nine federally recognized tribes (Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Burns Paiute, Coquille, Cow Creek, Grand Ronde, Klamath, Siletz, Umatilla, and Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw), operates tribal social services departments with their own workforce needs that PSU's online and Bend sites partially serve.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Oregon; Oregon State Board of Licensed Social Workers.
How long does an MSW take in Oregon if you already have a BSW?
An MSW in Oregon takes about a year if you already have a BSW, because Advanced Standing is offered at every one of the state's three accredited programs: George Fox University, Pacific University and Portland State University. A standard MSW runs two years.
Advanced Standing waives the foundation year for graduates of a CSWE-accredited BSW, which is why the route is only open to that degree and not to a bachelor's in psychology or sociology. Every accredited program in Oregon offers it.
Which MSW programs in Oregon offer an embedded certificate?
Two MSW programs in Oregon offer an embedded certificate alongside the degree, covering School Social Work and Gerontology. These are recorded in the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs.
An embedded certificate is completed inside the MSW rather than after it, so it usually adds no extra semesters. It is worth checking what the certificate actually is before it sways a decision: some are a formal credential recognized by employers or a state agency, others are simply a named set of electives on the transcript.
How did we rank these Oregon MSW programs?
We ranked these Oregon MSW programs on the same seven-factor model used in the national ranking, applied identically to every accredited program in the state. The state ranking uses identical criteria and weights. No Oregon-specific adjustments are made. Programs are ordered by composite score. For the full methodology, see our ranking methodology page.
Accreditation is 25% of the score because it is the only pass-or-fail factor here: Oregon licenses no graduate of an unaccredited program. Accredited programs in Oregon run from one holding that status since 1964 to one accredited as recently as 2014, and a longer record means more reaffirmation cycles survived.
Weights: CSWE accreditation 25%, program leadership 15%, pathways 15%, delivery format 15%, employer signal 15%, cost 10%, reputation 5%. Each factor is defined in full on our ranking methodology page.
How do you become a licensed social worker in Oregon?
You become a licensed social worker in Oregon by completing a CSWE-accredited MSW, passing the ASWB examination at the level your license requires, and, for a clinical license, logging supervised hours afterwards. Licensing here is administered by the Oregon social work licensing board. Oregon offers more than one route to licensure, pick the branch that matches the kind of practice you want. License names, exams, and supervised-hour requirements come from the ASWB Social Work Regulatory Database.
Master's social work license route in OR
MSW → LMSW
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Pass the ASWB Masters exam and apply for the LMSW (Licensed Master's Social Worker).
Clinical social work license route in OR
MSW → CSWA → LCSW
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Register as the CSWA (Certified Social Work Associate) to begin supervised practice.
- 3
Complete 3,500 hours of supervised practice over 2 to 5 years and pass the ASWB Clinical exam, then apply for the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), which authorizes independent clinical practice and clinical diagnosis.
Oregon social work licenses at a glance
Master's license
Licensed Master's Social Worker
Pre-clinical (associate) license
Certified Social Work Associate
Clinical license
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Source: Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Regulatory Database, 2026. License requirements change, so always confirm current rules with the Oregon licensing board before applying.
Common questions about MSW programs in Oregon
Common questions about MSW programs in Oregon, on accreditation, cost, format and licensure.
How many CSWE-accredited MSW programs are in Oregon?
What do social workers earn in Oregon?
What are Oregon's social work licensing requirements?
What makes PSU's MSW program the top-ranked in Oregon?
Are there Oregon MSW programs outside of the Portland area?
Which Oregon cities have MSW programs?
Find CSWE-accredited programs in and near specific Oregon cities, with nearby campuses, online options, and local salary and job-market data.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The data on this page comes from the sources below, and from nothing else: no commercial directories, no other ranking sites.
- CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs covers which Oregon programs hold accreditation, the year each was first accredited, approved campus locations, concentrations, dual degrees and plan-of-study options.
- Individual program pages (.edu) supply curriculum detail, field-hour requirements, delivery format and cohort scheduling. Each program card links to the page it was written from.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Oregon supplies the employment and wage figures in the job-market section, May 2025 release.
- ASWB Social Work Laws and Regulations Database supplies license names, examination levels and supervised-hour requirements, read 2026.
- Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education supplies the research classification used in the ranking model.
What are the best MSW programs near Oregon?
The best MSW programs near Oregon are in the neighboring states below, all CSWE-accredited. Licensure is state by state, so check a program across the border against the rules where you intend to practice.